AGU Town Hall Meeting
Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment of the Arctic Council: A Call to the
Arctic Research Community
American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2007 Fall Meeting
San Francisco, California
When: Thursday, 13 December 2007, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Where: Moscone West, Room 3006
For further information, please contact:
Lawson Brigham
U.S. Arctic Research Commission
Anchorage, Alaska
Phone: 907-271-4577
E-mail: usarc2 [at] acsalaska.net
A town hall meeting about the ongoing Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment
(AMSA) of the Arctic Council will be held at the 2007 Fall Meeting of
the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco, California. The
meeting will take place on Thursday, 13 December 2007, from 7:30 to 9:00
p.m., in Moscone West, Room 3006. The town hall meeting is being hosted
by the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. All researchers, ship managers
and operators, research program managers, polar program administrators,
members of the media, and guests are welcome to join in the discussions.
Canada, Finland, and the United States are the lead countries for AMSA
under the Arctic Council's working group Protection of the Arctic Marine
Environment (PAME). The completion date for AMSA is spring 2009, when a
report is to be presented at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in
Norway. Increasing marine access throughout the Arctic Ocean and a
growth in marine operations in the entire region have gained
international attention. Highlighted are significant marine safety and
marine environmental protection issues of critical importance to the
eight arctic states, all arctic residents, the Arctic Council, and the
international maritime community. AMSA is chartered to address these
issues and PAME will develop recommendations for the arctic states to
consider.
An overview of the AMSA report chapters, ongoing analyses, regional
studies, and surveys will be presented. The AMSA team will use this town
hall meeting to discuss with the arctic research community a number of
AMSA issues where current arctic research can support and be integrated
with the overall assessment. Following the overview AMSA briefing, a
facilitated discussion will take place. Examples of the issues and
topics that are of interest and could be discussed include: the
application of the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) concept in AMSA; the
robustness and utility of arctic sea ice simulations through the 21st
century; current research on future environmental impacts of arctic ship
stack emissions and discharges; the importance and relevance of enhanced
arctic monitoring/observing systems to future arctic marine use; the
future of winter arctic sea ice (extent and thickness); the future of
arctic ship guidelines and international regulations; and the full range
of social, environmental, and economic impacts of current and future
arctic marine use.
This is an open AGU Town Hall Meeting and the views and contributions of
the broad AGU community are encouraged and welcome.
More information about AMSA is available on the PAME website at:
http://www.pame.is
For further information about AMSA and the AGU Town Hall Meeting, please
contact:
Lawson Brigham
U.S. Arctic Research Commission
Anchorage, Alaska
Phone: 907-271-4577
E-mail: usarc2 [at] acsalaska.net